Melrose Playground

Parks Cuts the Ribbon on Melrose Playground

Today, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Deputy Bronx Borough President Aurelia Greene, Assembly Member Carmen Arroyo, Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Community Board 1 Chair George Rodriguez and members of the community to cut the ribbon on renovations to Melrose Playground.

“Thanks to a capital contribution from the Croton Water Filtration Plant Mitigation Fund, the renovated Melrose Playground hosts an array of activities from a climbing unit to chess and checker tables to a spray shower,” said Parks Commissioner Benepe. “The park provides a wonderful community meeting place to cool off, have fun and relax this summer.”

The $1.6 million project was funded the Croton Water Filtration Plant Mitigation Fund. The reconstructed site contains new play equipment that includes a climbing unit, teeter-totter and swings, chess and checker tables, a spray shower, plantings and trees, a new drainage system, curbs and pavement.

The neighborhood of Melrose was originally settled by the Morris family. By the 1850s, the Morrises began selling their land to families, forming suburban communities surrounding Manhattan. The development of rapid transit transformed the neighborhood from a suburb into a bustling urban area, especially after the completion of its first subway line in 1908, which connected the community to Manhattan.

In the early 1950s, the city responded to the area’s growing population by constructing the Melrose Houses. This playground was first built as a recreational facility for the residents of these apartments. The Board of Estimate approved its construction in 1953, and the park was opened as Melrose Playground on June 4, 1954.

Since Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002, Parks has spent more than $154 million on 127 park improvement projects in the Bronx. Parks currently has 41 projects representing $296 million in construction and another 75 projects representing $245 million in design/bidding.